Richard Mark Carter, 56, was found collapsed outside a Food Mart in the 2200 block of Bessemer Road in Birmingham just before 2 a.m. on April 26, 2023. He was alive when first responders arrived and was taken to UAB Hospital, where he later died.

Initial reports described what appeared to be a stabbing, but an autopsy showed Carter had been shot. Investigators said the gunfire likely occurred elsewhere and that Carter made it to the store seeking help. Detectives focused early attention on an apartment property on 31st Street in Ensley as a possible scene of the shooting. Authorities did not name a suspect and said no one was in custody; the case was being handled as an active homicide investigation.

If anyone saw Carter shortly before he arrived at the store, heard gunfire in the area that night, or knows about movements around the 31st Street apartment property, contact the Birmingham Police Department’s Homicide Unit.